Category
Consumables
Gloves, workwear, cleaning chemicals, office and janitorial supplies.
Why this category drifts
Consumables are bought on a catalogue, and catalogue prices drift upward quietly between reviews. The individual lines are small, which is exactly why nobody checks them.
What we watch
ONS producer prices for chemicals and plastic products, and HMRC import unit values.
Alongside your own invoices — a supplier's own price rise is better evidence than any national average, and it is the one thing no index can tell you.
Why the quotes are hard to compare
Pack sizes are the trap: the cheaper box may contain fewer. Everything is converted to a cost per glove, per litre, per sheet before anything is compared.
CostSpring converts every quote to a landed cost per unit you actually use, keeps the caveats attached to the number they qualify, and tells you what the gap is worth in the rhythm you order in.
Where to start
Add the two or three lines you suspect have not been looked at in a while. If nothing is worth acting on, you will be told that too — an alert nobody needs is worse than no alert.